Halloween
by SnowGirl7
Summary: Complete Put Halloween parties, haunted houses, goblins, ghosts, Jareth, and a somewhat paranoid Sarah into the mix and you've got the basics of this story. Definite JS in future chapters.
1. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth, but you can't blame a girl for wishing.

Author's Note: Okay this story may or may not be completely done by Halloween, seeing that its only a few days away, but oh well. This is only a little story I thought up back in September (guess I should have started writing it then, huh?), and is the first Laby story with actual chapters in it that I'm putting up. Yay for me! Anywho, like I said, this is only supposed to be a little story, but if you all like it, I may make it longer and take in other holidays as well. Of course, if that happens, I'll have to change the name to something else. We'll see... Please review and let me know if you like it so far, all one chapter of it. Now, on to the story!

Halloween: Chapter One

It had been a year, that much she knew. A year since she took her trip through the Labyrinth, a year since she last saw him, but he was haunting her. Everywhere she looked she saw him, felt his presence. She dreamed of him almost every night. 

The only times she could go without thinking of him was when she would sit in the park with her dog, Merlin. And that's just what she was doing as the sun was setting, but for some reason unknown to her, the sixteen-year-old Sarah Williams could not get a certain Goblin King off her mind. "I don't want to think of him, Merlin! Please help me?" she held the sheep dog's face between her hands, then laughed at the oh-so-obvious look of 'I have no idea what you're saying' written in the dog's brown eyes. "Oh, Merlin."

Sarah scratched the dog's head, then leaned back against a tree. She closed her eyes to relax a bit, but how could she? Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him and her eyes would pop open once more. This time, however, she didn't even have her eyes shut a second before she heard her name being called.

"Sarah!" it was her best friend, Alice, from school. Sarah watched as she ran, as best she could with heels on, toward her. "Sarah, I need your help."

Sarah sat up straighter as her friend stopped to catch her breath in front of her. To be honest, Sarah was glad for the distraction.

"What do you need my help with?"

Alice had a mischievous look in her eye, one that Sarah had seen many times before and it was never a good thing.

"Alice..." Sarah warned, "Whatever you've got planned, forget it."

"Oh come on, Sarah! You know as well as I do that Halloween is less than a week away, and I have an idea about how we can spend it." Alice pleaded, "Just hear me out, will you?"

"It won't do any good, I have to take Toby Trick-or-Treating." Sarah leaned back against the tree once more, for once glad that her step-mother was making her do something with her brother. Although, it wasn't completely against her will, she loved doing things with her baby brother now. But usually Karen just dropped him on her at the last second, especially when she had something to do or somewhere to be.

"It doesn't have to be on Halloween, then." Alice stated. Sarah was at a loss.

"Fine." Sarah sighed, finally giving in, "What's your idea?"

Alice smiled, "Well, you know that house over by the school? The really run down one that is supposedly haunted?"

"Yeah..." Sarah didn't like where this was going. "What about it?"

"We're going to see if it's really haunted, that's what!" Alice was grinning from ear to ear now, so excited was she about her own plan she could barely contain it. "So what do you think?"

Sarah was definitely not thrilled about it, but seeing the look of hope on her friend's face, she couldn't say no. Letting out another sigh, she replied, "We could go after the school's Halloween party this Saturday."

Alice grinned even more, if that was possible, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! You won't regret it, I promise!"

Sarah watched as her friend got up to leave. She had the distinct feeling that she was going to live to regret it, despite what Alice said.

"Well, Merlin, I guess I'm going to a haunted house." Sarah sighed, once Alice was out of sight. The sheep dog looked up at her in such a way that it sent tingles down her spine. It felt so familiar.

_But should you need us._

The memory of her friends hit her hard.

_I need you---all of you.  
_

"Does that include me, Sarah?" the voice of Sarah's dreams asked in her mind. He sounded sad to her, somehow, not like he usually did.

_Jareth._

Standing up, Sarah hugged herself to keep out the cold that was creeping over her, "Why can't I forget you?" 

Looking back at the tree, Sarah shuddered. Something was going on with her, she just wished she knew what it was. Why was all this coming back to her now? The thoughts, the feelings, the occasional paranoid fear that some one was watching her or touching her when nobody was there, it was beginning to be too much for her. She was afraid she was losing her mind to the past, and to the Goblin King.

"Come on, Merlin, let's go home. It's getting really late." Sarah shuddered again, the cold still trying to overcome her. "I don't like it here anymore."

Glancing back once more before heading home, she shook her head. "I'm just being silly, Jareth isn't haunting me! Is he? No! No, I'm putting all of that, and him, behind me. And that's where it's going to stay."

As she walked away, however, she had a nervous feeling in her stomach that he was there, somewhere close, and she was right.

Once she had crossed the bridge toward home, an owl flew across the moon.

_So you're putting me behind you, are you Sarah?_

She heard and saw nothing, but continued on her way home, none the wiser. 


	2. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth, or it's characters, or a t-shirt featuring it... but I wish I did.

Author's Note: I am soooooo sorry for not getting this out sooner, but I didn't have any inspiration for it. I made this chapter a little longer than I'd planned to make up for it, though, and I hope you'll like it. I'll try not to take so long for the next chapter, but I can't promise anything. I also hope you won't think it too weird to be reading this after Halloween. Anyway, thank you for the reviews. Enjoy.

Halloween: Chapter Two

The next day after school, Sarah met up with Alice to try one last time to talk her out of the whole haunted house business. She failed miserably and, on top of that, Alice talked her into going to the school's Halloween party with her cousin who was in town for the weekend.

"Can you at least show me a picture of him so I know what to expect?" Sarah begged as they walked to Alice's house.

Alice grinned, she knew Sarah hated blind dates. "No. You'll meet him tomorrow night."

"Then can you at least tell me if he's taller than me?" Sarah whined. "You know I don't like it when the guy is shorter than I am! I end up feeling like a giant or something."

Alice was still grinning, "Honestly, Sarah, would I do that to you?"

Sarah just glared at her.

"Okay, fine." Alice raised her hands in defeat, "Yes, he is taller than you."

"Even if I decided to wear high heels?"

"Even if you wore four inch heels, he'd still be a good inch or two taller." Alice reassured, "Happy now?"

"I'd still like to see a picture." she mumbled under her breath.

"Trust me, Sarah, you'll like him." Alice said, as they walked up the sidewalk to her porch.

Once they were inside the house, Sarah looked around at the various pictures that decorated the walls and tables, but she had met all of the people she saw in them. She had never met this cousin, hadn't even known he existed until Alice had told her he was in town.

When she was satisfied that there were no pictures of the cousin, whose name she had yet to learn, she put him out of her mind. So easy it was to put a stranger out of her mind, she wished it was that easy to put a certain blonde, dream offering man out of her mind as well.

_Jareth._ That had been the first time that day she had thought about him. What had been occupying her mind all day?

She tried to think back, and the only thing that came to mind was that stupid haunted house. She didn't like the thought of going, but if it would keep her mind off Jareth then she welcomed it.

_Come now, Sarah. You don't really want to forget me, do you?_

Chills went down her spine. She could feel his hand gently push her hair aside as his voice whispered softly in her ear. She could feel his breath on her neck, as well as the warmth and pressure of his hands as they moved slowly down to rest on her shoulders. He whispered again.

_Sarah._

Sarah spun around quickly, but as always, no one was there. The only thing that ever really let her know that he had been there, other than the weird looks she usually got on the occasions when she felt compelled to argue with him, was the nervous, yet, excited feeling she'd get in her stomach. It was the same feeling she'd had when she'd first met him and at the different times she'd encountered him in the Labyrinth.

Never had she felt like that around anyone before she met him, and no matter how hard she tried to deny it, she knew she liked it.

"Sarah? Are you okay?" Alice's voice snapped her back to the present.

"What?" Sarah blinked, the feeling passed. Running her hands through her hair, she tried to sound as calm as possible, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look like you just saw a ghost." Alice asked her, concern in her voice.

"No, not a ghost," Sarah replied, "A memory."

"Good or bad?"

Sarah looked at her friend. It was such a simple question, but she was having a hard time finding the answer.

"I don't know." Sarah said finally, a slight laugh in her voice, "I really don't."

Confused somewhat by her answer, Alice went on, "Well, good or bad, I'm just glad it wasn't a ghost that you saw. Tomorrow is supposed to be our ghost night, and I would be very upset with you if you beat me to seeing one!"

The teasing tone in her voice made Sarah smile. She was lucky to have a friend like Alice, she just wished she could tell her what was really on her mind. Maybe she could.

Sarah turned serious eyes on her friend, "Alice, if I tell you something, do you promise not to think I'm crazy?"

Alice could tell by the look on Sarah's face that what she wanted to say was extremely important, "What's wrong?"

"Do you promise?" Sarah asked, more urgently.

"Yes, of course." Alice replied, "Now, what is it?"

"It's a long story," Sarah warned her.

"Then it's a good thing you're spending the night, eh?"

"Right." Sarah smiled. Finally, she would have some one to talk to about everything. "Before I start, I'd better call home to tell them I'm staying here tonight."

As soon as she did that, the two sixteen-year-olds grabbed some extra pillows from the closet and carried them to the room they usually stayed in when having a sleepover. Once they had done that, they went outside for some fresh air.

"I love this time of year, the air is just so...I don't know how to describe it." Sarah commented as they walked toward the park.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Alice agreed with her. "Now, why don't you start talkin'?"

Sarah nodded, and, taking a deep breath, she began reiterating as they walked, "Well, it all started about a year ago..."

She told Alice everything from wishing her brother away, to the dream bubble ballroom, to the very end when she said the words, defeating Jareth and getting Toby back. She even told her about giving Launcelot to Toby and the party in her room afterward. She just hoped Alice believed her.

"Wow." Alice was stunned, "And you're not making this up?"

"No," Sarah said quickly, "It's all true, I swear. You do believe me, don't you?"

Sarah watched her friend as she processed all the information just given to her.

"To be honest with you, Sarah, I believe you with all of my heart. I mean, anything is possible, right? Why not that?"

She had been so scared that Alice wouldn't believe her, she laughed when she said she did. It was a relief to know that her best friend didn't think she was completely bonkers. It almost seemed like Alice understood, about everything.

"So, do you love him?" Alice's question took Sarah by surprise.

"What? No!" Sarah exclaimed, but Alice wasn't convinced and she knew it, "Do I?"

"I can't tell you that! You have to figure it out on your own."

"Alice, I can't be in love with Jareth, he took my brother!" Sarah tried, but that argument never had worked, even when she'd used it to convince herself of the very same thing.

"Sarah, from what you've said, he only did what you asked. You wished Toby away. Albeit, you didn't know anything would actually happen, but that doesn't change the fact that you did it." Alice pointed out, "And besides, you got Toby back. If anything, this Jareth should be the one upset with you."

"How do you figure that?!"

"Well, you are so in denial about having feelings for the guy, when he so obviously had feelings for you!" Alice smiled when she saw Sarah's mouth drop open. "I'm not saying you love him, just that you have feelings for him."

"Why do you say that? When have I ever said---"

"You didn't," Alice interrupted, "I could tell by the way you were talking about dancing with him. Which, by the way, has totally made the school's Halloween party sound completely lame."

"Yeah, a ballroom in a bubble can do that to a person." Sarah said, sarcastically.

"I'm being serious! I don't even think I want to go to the party now." Alice crossed her arms and walked on ahead of Sarah.

"Ohho, no! If you don't go, I don't go." Sarah ran to catch up with her friend, "And if I don't go, your cousin doesn't go."

Alice winced at the mention of her cousin, "Fine, but only for...my cousin."

"Oh, come on! Just tell me his name!!" Sarah laughed, as Alice shook her head.

"You'll find out when you meet him!"

"You are so weird." Sarah told her, cocking her head, "Why am I friends with you again?"

"We're both crazy, that's why."

"Oh, is that all?"

Both girls laughed as they turned to go. They had been walking around the park for a few hours now and the sun was beginning to set, leaving long shadows and dark places for anything to hide in. Such places were exactly the reason why neither Sarah, nor Alice, were aware of the small creatures that seemed to be following them, listening carefully to every word.


	3. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own Labyrinth or the characters therein, but I do own the ones I made up.

Author's Note: Happy St. Patrick's Day all! I know it's been forever since I last updated and I am soooo sorry about that! Stupid writer's block! Anyway, it may be a while before you get another chapter because I've decided to finish writing this here story before I update again. I hope this chapter makes up for it (and not updating sooner), though. I would like to thank my reviewers (I hope you didn't think I'd forgotten about this story, or that I was dead, 'cause I'm not.). Your reviews make me feel all happy:) Anywho, please read on and enjoy!

Halloween: Chapter Three

Goblins. Usually they are bumbling, stupid little creatures. However, they do have their uses. They can scurry through the shadows, unseen by all. Watching through the windows, listening through the wallsthey hear everything, see everything. Nothing escapes them. Nobody ever knows they're there until its too late, until they've said something they regret and can't take back. They can never take it back.

_What's said is said._

Those were the first words he had ever said to her, and she was not too soon to forget. They echoed in her dreams and wouldn't go away. She tossed and turned as she lay on the floor of Alice's back room, images of the past floating through her head.

She was standing in the ballroom once more, but something was horribly wrong. Nobody else was there, it was as silent as the dead.

"Hello?" Sarah's voice echoed throughout the room. "Is anybody here?"

No one answered, but she could sense somebody watching her. As she turned around to take in her surroundings, soft music began to play. She knew it was special music, the kind you only hear in your dreams. Closing her eyes slowly, she listened. She knew this music by heart.

_"There's such a sad love _

_Deep in your eyes" _

She felt herself swaying back and forth, dancing with an invisible partner. Her eyes still closed, she spun herself around the room to the music.

_"There's such a fooled heart _

_Beating so fast_

_In search of new dreams" _

Suddenly, she felt some one gently take her hands. Opening her eyes, she saw him standing there. Softly, he sang to her.

_"A love that will last _

_Within your heart" _

"Jareth..." Sarah whispered softly as he swept her across the floor, gracefully.

Leaning close, he breathed in her ear, "I'll place the moon within your heart, Sarah, if you'll let me."

Pulling away slightly, she looked up into his mismatched eyes, her heart beating faster than it ever had before. "I don't know if I can."

He said nothing, but pulled away from her. The music stopped abruptly, and Sarah looked questioningly at Jareth as he backed away, slowly. He was fading.

"Jareth!" Sarah cried, but he was gone. Looking around, she could now see that everything was gone, nothing was left but an empty darkness. She felt more cold and alone now than she could ever remember feeling before. "Jareth! Come back!"

Falling to her knees, tears fell from her eyes.

"Sarah!" she heard Alice's voice call her, "Sarah, wake up! Please wake up!"

Sarah looked around in the dark. She felt very strange, like she was falling and couldn't catch herself.

"Sarah, please!" Alice's voice sounded worried. Why was her friend worried about her?

Slowly, Sarah opened her eyes to see the concerned, and slightly panicked, face of Alice.

"Sarah!" Alice suddenly hugged her tightly, "I thought you'd never wake up! I've been trying for about two hours now."

After the initial relief that Sarah was okay, Alice pulled back from her friend and slapped her on the arm...hard.

"Alice!" Sarah rubbed her arm, as she turned shocked eyes on the other girl, "What was that for!"

"For scaring me! I almost called the paramedics on you!" Alice said, angrily, "That really must have been some dream you were having."

Sarah, brushing the sweat soaked hair out of her face, nodded slightly, "Yeah, it was."

"Well, you can tell me about it later. Are you okay?"

Getting up, Sarah reassured, "I'll be fine."

"Good." Alice took a deep breath, then teased, "For a minute, I thought we weren't going to be able to go shopping!"

"Thanks for the concern!" Sarah picked up a pillow and hit Alice with it.

Shrinking from a second swing of the pillow, Alice cried, "You're welcome!"

After a few more attempts at hitting her friend, Sarah dropped the pillow and fell back into a chair next to Alice. "So, what makes shopping more important than a friend's health?"

"We have to find the perfect costumes for tonight, don't we?" Alice smiled, looking over at her, "I want to look amazing for Greg, after all. And you," Alice pointed a finger at Sarah, "Derek likes the color blue, just so you know."

"Derek?" Sarah questioned, but she already knew the answer. "So, your cousin's name is Derek."

"Yep," Alice nodded, "I decided it would be easier if you knew his name beforehand. I mean, he knows your's."

"He does?"

"Of course." Alice replied, then went on carefully, "And there's a few other things I think you need to know about him."

Sarah looked at her friend, suspiciously, "What?"

"He tends to step on your feet when dancing, so I think you need to wear steel-toed shoes."

"Ha, ha. Do you want me to pick the pillow back up?" Sarah threatened.

"No, please, _anything_ but _that_!" Alice put her hands up mock-pleadingly.

"So there is nothing wrong with him, I take it?"

Alice shook her head, "No, nothing to my knowledge. I just wanted to mess with your mind a little."

"Thanks, but I get enough of that on my own." Sarah said, distantly. She could hear the music from her dream again, faintly.

_I know you do, Sarah. I'm the reason.  
_  
Sarah snapped back to reality. She was shaking.

"You zoned out for a minute there. Are you sure you're okay?" Sarah heard the concern in her friend's voice.

Regaining her composure, Sarah nodded, "I'll be fine. Now, about our costumes..."

The two girls, once they had changed their clothes and eaten, took off to the local costume shop to look around, unsure of what they'd find.

"This one's cool." Alice stated, pulling out a silverish-black prom dress-like costume. Holding it up to herself, she asked Sarah, "How does it look? Do you think Greg would like it?"

"I'm sure he would, Alice." Sarah replied, "It's a beautiful dress, but what would you be going as?"

"A prom queen." Alice stated as she went to go try it on. "Duh."

"Oh." Sarah rolled her eyes, then went back to looking. As she went from rack to rack, she always seemed to come back to one particular dress. It was all white, with a full skirt and thick straps that came off the shoulder just slightly. It reminded her of an old wedding dress she had seen once, but she couldn't remember where. She knew, however, that she had to try it on. And try it on she did.

_It looks beautiful on you.  
_  
Chills went up and down Sarah's spine as she gazed at herself in the mirror of the dressing room. She could feel him nearby, watching her, but she just stood there staring into the mirror as if in a trance.

_But there is something missing, don't you think?  
_  
Her image in the mirror changed before her eyes. She was now wearing a veil and holding a bouquet of roses, the deepest red she had ever seen. Her lips were of the same rich color.

In the mirror behind her reflection, she could see people dancing, but she couldn't understand why.

Suddenly, the people in the mirror stopped dancing. They seemed to be seeing something in there that she couldn't. Following their gaze, her eyes came to rest on one man, and he only seemed to see her.

She could feel her heart slam against her chest as he approached her. He smiled genuinely at her, his mismatched eyes never leaving her's.

"Jareth." she said, slowly, staring into the eyes of the man now standing behind her.

"Much better." he whispered, leaning in. Turning her face up toward his, he raised the veil and leaned closer. She could feel his breath on her face and knew he was going to kiss her, "Much, much better."

Suddenly, Sarah heard a knock at the door. The spell was broken and she was alone again.

"Sarah, are you okay in there?" Alice's voice sounded muffled through the door.

"Um," Sarah tried to keep the disappointment out of her voice as she answered, "Yeah, I'm almost finished."

She smoothed out some wrinkles that had formed in the dress as she looked at herself in the mirror once more.

"How's it going in there?" Alice sounded almost ecstatic, "I hope you're having as much good luck as I had."

"I'm having the best luck, Alice." she tried to sound calm, when she really felt so shaken. Taking a deep breath, she whispered as she stared at her image in the mirror, "The best."


	4. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I wish I did but I don't own Labyrinth.

Author's Note: Hi! Well it's almost Halloween, so I thought I'd put another chapter up. Happy news, I've finished the story and the last chapter will be posted in a couple of days. Thank you to all the reviewers and those of you who may just be reading and not reviewing. I hope you like my story. Enjoy.

Halloween: Chapter Four

The night came on quickly, as did the nervous feeling in Sarah's stomach. Not because of her date with Derek, whom she still had not met or even seen, but because of what she had seen in that mirror several hours before. The images stuck with her, consuming her thoughts.

"Sarah, are you okay? You haven't really said anything since we left that costume place." Alice asked. Sarah could see the worry in her friend's eyes as they sat in front of Alice's mirror, getting ready.

"I saw something, Alice," Sarah replied, putting down her lipstick and standing up. "In the dressing room mirror."

Turning around in her seat, Alice watched Sarah pace back and forth, nervously.

"Sarah, sit down before you wear a hole in my carpet." Alice ordered. Once Sarah took a seat, she urged, "What did you see?"

"I saw me, Alice, but I was..." Sarah trailed off. Standing up, she walked back over to where her friend was and sat down. To be sure that nothing she was about to say would reach any unwanted listeners, she lowered her voice to a whisper, "I was in this dress, but..."

"But _what_, Sarah? You're not making any sense."

"There were other people in the mirror, dancing. And Jareth..." Sarah said, quickly. "He was there, too. I'm not making this up!"

"I believe you." Alice reassured, but her voice sounded strange to Sarah, "Is that all?"

"No." Sarah looked at herself in the mirror, remembering, "This dress, my dress, it wasn't just a costume anymore. It was a wedding dress, veil and bouquet of roses included."

"Sounds lovely."

"I thought so, too, at the time." Sarah's hands were shaking now as she thought about it, "It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I just didn't understand."

"Understand what?" Alice questioned her.

"I didn't understand what was going on! I just stood there and stared, I couldn't take my eyes away. But all those people! They were there for a reason, and so was Jareth." Sarah stood up and smoothed out the skirt of her dress. "I couldn't, for the life of me, figure out why. I think it only came to me when he started walking toward me. It was my wedding."

"Your wedding?"

Sarah turned to her friend, her eyes glistening with unshed tears, "I was going to marry him, Alice! I wanted to." Turning back to her reflection, she added softly, "I think I still do."

"Sarah, what are you saying?" Alice already knew what she was going to say, but she wanted to hear her say it. She knew Sarah needed to say it out loud.

Sarah's eyes connected with Alice's in the mirror, "I'm saying, I think I'm in love with Jareth."

"Is that such a bad thing?"

"Yes...no...oh, I don't know!" Sarah said, shaking her head. Turning around in her seat, a tear slid down her cheek as she whispered, softly, "I've never been in love before."

Alice was about to reply when a knock came to her bedroom door. She called, "Who is it?"

"Candy gram." A note was slipped under the door.

"My dad is so weird." Alice walked over and picked up the note. As she read it, she frowned, then crumpled it up and threw it down on her bed. "Sarah, you're not going to believe this!"

"You won the lottery?" Sarah attempted to laugh, but it came out more choked than anything. She hoped her friend would take the hint that she'd rather not talk about what she'd just confessed. Luckily for her, Alice understood.

"Do you think I'd get upset if I'd won the lottery? That would be great, not possible, but great." Alice replied, lightly. Sitting down on the end of her bed, she explained, "No, it's the guys. They've bailed on us!"

"Are you serious?" Sarah questioned, "So we're getting all dressed up for nothing?"

"It looks that way. Unless..." Alice smiled, deviously. She had that look in her eyes again.

"Unless what?" Sarah asked, cautiously.

"Unless we still go." Alice shrugged, "I mean, why not? Going dateless is not going to kill us."

"Yes, yes it will." Sarah replied.

"I'm serious! I think it'd be fun. We could take pictures of ourselves with some other guys there and show Greg and Derek just what they missed!" Alice flipped her hair, "They'd never have to know we went alone."

"I don't know, Alice. I don't really feel like going." Sarah rested her hands on the back of her chair, "The only reason I was, was because you told your cousin I would. Now that he isn't going, why should I?"

"Why!" Alice questioned, enthusiastically. "Did you not hear what I just said!"

"I know, but---"

"But what? Come on, Sarah! It'll be fun." Alice begged, "Please?"

Sarah narrowed her eyes at her friend. Unwillingly, she gave in, "Okay, but if when we get there, I change my mind, you have to let me leave."

"Deal." Alice smiled. She knew that once Sarah got there, she would have a good time and forget her troubles for a while. And she was right, for the most part.

Later that night, the two girls arrived at the school for the Halloween party. It was being held in the auditorium, which seemed the perfect place. It already had a very eerie look and feel to it, but with the help of realistic looking cobwebs, dark lighting, and a strategically placed fog machine, it looked like something straight from a horror movie.

Moonlight shone through the auditorium's skylight, illuminating a little section of the hardwood floor as students and teachers alike filed through the double doors. Sarah had always thought it strange that the skylight was the only window to the outside world in the entire building, but tonight it didn't seem strange at all. It was almost as if the architect had designed it that way for the sole purpose of that night.

"Can you believe this!" Alice exclaimed in awe as she looked around. The fog machine had created a hazy mist that slowly crept over the ground and wound it's way around their ankles. "It all looks so---"

Alice stopped in mid-sentence when she saw them. Quickly, she pulled Sarah out of sight.

"That lying snake!" she exclaimed as loud as she could in a whisper. Sarah was clueless. "I should never have introduced them!"

"What?" Sarah asked as they crouched behind some decorative barrels. "Who?"

Alice was livid, "My cousin and so-called boyfriend, that's who! They're right over there and Greg's with another girl!" Alice gestured to them, but when Sarah tried to look, "Don't look, they'll see us!"

Sarah looked anyway. Greg was on the stairs, leaning over the rail leading up to the balcony, with some girl Sarah didn't recognize. She didn't see Derek, though.

She felt angry for her friend, "Why shouldn't they see us? They're the ones who should be hiding!"

Alice looked out from behind her barrel, her eyes on the verge of crying angry, hurt tears. "You're right. We should go over there and---"

"Hold on, I have a better idea." Sarah flashed a wicked grin, then looked back at Greg and the nameless girl, "Derek doesn't know what I look like, does he?"

Sniffling a little, Alice shook her head.

"Good," Sarah nodded, "Could you point him out to me?"

"Why? What are you planning?" Alice asked, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Point him out and I'll show you." Sarah smiled mischievously.

It didn't take long before Alice spotted her cousin.

"There he is." she pointed toward the stage on the other side of the room.

Sarah turned her eyes in the direction Alice was pointing. The first thing that came to her mind when she saw him was that fear she had harbored about him being shorter than her. It seemed silly to her now, as he towered over most of the crowd. He had short brown hair, and despite the distance, she had no problem seeing that his eyes were blue, so very blue.

"Wait here and watch." Sarah told Alice, then started to make her way toward Derek. She had a plan, if only she could get his attention.

It didn't take long, he saw her coming toward him through the crowd. Smiling, she motioned for him to follow her to a less crowded area. Stopping next to one of the fire escape doors, she waited for him as he more than willingly followed. But, as the distance between them closed in, she had a sinking feeling in her stomach that he was a hunter stalking his prey. His determined look unnerved her.

"Hi." Trying to hide her anxiety, Sarah smiled up at him when he finally made it through the crowd, "You're new here, aren't you? I haven't seen you around before."

He smiled down at her. She couldn't help but feel uneasy at the look he had in his eyes, "You could say that. I'm only in town for a few days."

"Oh?" Sarah asked, her eyes widening slightly as he reached out and tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. He took a step toward her. It was then that she realized just how dark it was in that particular spot, and he was getting a little too close for comfort. _Is this really Alice's cousin? It can't be, I must have the wrong guy! Let's just find out. _"So...do you have a name?"

"Derek." he replied, moving ever closer.

_Okay, so it is him. Now what? _She hoped she knew what she was getting herself into. One thing she did know, she was definitely going to tell Alice about this later. Her friend couldn't possibly know what kind of a person her cousin was turning out to be!

"Umm..." Sarah started as she spotted the patch of moonbeam on the floor, courtesy of the skylight. She took a step toward it, but he held her back. Looking up, she smiled innocently, all the while the wheels in her mind went a million miles a second, "Dance with me?"

For a slight instance, a coldness came over her as he stared at her. She could have sworn she saw anger flicker in his eyes. When she looked again, it was gone, as was the forward guy who had just been there.

"Sure, I'll dance with you." he smiled and held out his hand to her.

_What is with this guy? _Sarah thought to herself as they started to dance. _One minute he's coming on to me, the next he's..._

"Derek, why don't we go back that way?" Sarah tried to keep the slight panic she felt, out of her voice. He was leading her away from the light.

He didn't answer her, but kept going in the opposite direction. Pulling her closer, he held her tighter.

"Where are we going?" Sarah tried to pull away. His hands were starting to hurt her. "Let go, I don't want to dance anymore."

He didn't let go, and she finally saw where he was leading her: the exceedingly dark alcove which harbored another set of exit doors.

"Let go." Sarah tried to pull away again, but he still held tight. She wondered why nobody seemed to notice her distress or try to stop him. It was like they couldn't see any of it.

They were almost to the alcove when Derek stopped dancing, but he still kept an iron grip on Sarah's arm. _Where is Alice when I need her!_

"Does Alice know what kind of guy you are, Derek?" Sarah asked, without thinking. She realized her mistake when she saw the terrifying look in his eyes.

"Alice?" he sneered, those blue eyes burning through her. "How do you know Alice?"

Sarah had to think fast, but couldn't come up with anything. Why wasn't Alice watching them like she had told her to? "She's my best friend."

"So you're Sarah?" Derek's grip weakened enough for her to take her arm back from him.

"Yes. The girl you stood up." she replied, rubbing her arm gently. Looking up defiantly into those blue eyes, she added, "I'm actually grateful that you did, though."

"Oh? And why is that?" He smiled at her, but it wasn't the same kind of smile he had given her before. This one didn't even look human.

"If you hadn't, I would have been stuck with you all night."

"Well then, if I had known what you looked like, I never would have stood you up." Leaning down suddenly, he dragged her to him, their faces inches apart. His eyes lingered on her's long enough to see the disgust in them before he pulled her the rest of the way, kissing her hard.

Sarah used all of her strength trying desperately to push him away, but still he would not let her go. Tears left hot trails down her cheeks as the music blared in her ears. This wasn't happening, it couldn't be. How could nobody be seeing this?

He held on tightly for what seemed like forever. Finally though, he backed off, looking down at her with a satisfied smirk, "Now, that wasn't too bad, was it?"

Rage swept through her and, without thinking, she swung her hand as hard as she could, connecting it with the side of his face. However, rage turned to horror when seconds later, murder appeared in his eyes as he touched his already reddening cheek with the tips of his fingers.

He grabbed her arm once more, but before he could do anything, something happened. The sound of shattering glass and loud screams echoed throughout the room as the music was cut off. People were rushing to the exits in a panic. Everywhere was chaos.

Wiping the remaining tears from her face, Sarah was thankful. The unexpected commotion gave her the opportunity to break free from Derek's iron grip and she watched as he was lost in the crowd surging out of the auditorium.

In all the confusion, it was hard to tell what had happened, but she could hear the crunch of glass as people ran underneath the skylight. Had something come through it? She scanned the floor for the object, but came up with nothing except the glass that lay shimmering in the moonlight. Looking it over, Sarah felt a chill go through her when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the reflection of a man looking down at her. Her eyes traveled quickly from the floor to the skylight, but she knew he would be gone. He always was.

_Jareth..._


	5. Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I-ay on't-day own-ay abyrinth-Lay.("I don't own Labyrinth" in pig latin.)

Final Author's Note: Happy Halloween! Okay, its a couple of days early, but whatever. Well, here it is, the last and final chapter. I'm happy with it, I hope all of you will be too. And I give a final thanks to all who have read and reviewed this story of mine. It took longer to write than I expected. Enjoy.

Halloween: Chapter Five

The next day as she sat in her kitchen with Alice, Sarah could not stop thinking about the events of the previous night. She couldn't understand what had happened...or almost happened, if it hadn't been for Jareth. It all seemed so strange, unreal to her, somehow.

Alice had been so worried about her when she told her what had happened. She just couldn't believe her cousin could be such a slime.

"What I can't figure out is why nobody noticed me trying to get away from him." Sarah stated to her friend. "And why didn't you see us?"

Alice winced, "Sorry. I got a little distracted when I 'accidentally' threw wadded up wet paper napkins at Greg and his 'date'." Alice smiled thinking about it.

"Oh," Sarah smiled, too, "But that doesn't explain everybody else."

Alice shook her head. "People at our school are a bunch of inconsiderate jerks, that's all."

"I wish I could believe that." Sarah replied after thinking about it, and even though it was true, she just had this feeling that there was more to it. She thought of Jareth. Had he been behind it all?

_Is that what you really think, Sarah?_

His voice penetrated her mind, questioning. She had to admit, she could not believe that of him. He had been there, that she knew, but he had been the only one really looking out for her.

_No, I don't think that at all, Jareth._

"Sarah?" Alice was waving her hand in front of Sarah's face. "Earth to Sarah."

"Hmm? What?" She had been in her own little world again. "Sorry."

"Never mind. Now, if you're up to it, I think we should go to that haunted house tonight since we didn't last night."

"I told you I can't. It is Halloween, you know. Toby is really looking forward to Trick-or-Treating this year."

"Oh that's right...what's he going as?" Alice asked, trying not to show her disappointment.

"I don't know yet. Karen forgot to buy a costume, so they're out there looking for one. I doubt they're going to find anything good. They better get home soon, though. Karen wants me to have him back here before it actually gets dark, you know."

Just as she said that, they heard the front door open and voices filled the front hall.

"Well, lets go see what they found." Sarah got up and walked toward the front of the house, Alice following right behind her. When they got there, they found Karen struggling to carry both the costume bag and a sleeping Toby. "Here, let me help you." Sarah said, taking Toby from his mother.

"Thank you, Sarah." Karen said, absently, as she carried the bag past her step-daughter and up the stairs. Looking back, she stated, "Toby wanted it to be a surprise to you."

Sarah nodded and carried the sleeping Toby to his room. When she came back down to where she had left Alice, her friend seemed a little more hopeful.

"Will he even be awake to go Trick-or-Treating?" Alice asked.

"Yes. Karen will make sure of it, seeing as she just spent the whole day looking for a costume for him."

Alice nodded as they made their way back to the kitchen.

"Don't look so sad, Alice." Sarah looked at her friend out of the corner of her eye and smiled, "Halloween doesn't end when the sun goes down, you know."

"You mean...?" Alice turned her head sharply.

"We can go check it out after I've taken Toby around."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Alice cried and side hugged her friend.

Sarah gasped for breath, "This is really important to you, isn't it?"

"Very." Alice released her, the added as she walked ahead, "You have no idea."

"I guess not." Sarah eyed her friend. Alice didn't make sense to her sometimes. What could be so important about this house? Shrugging, Sarah followed her back into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

They had been in there no more than ten minutes when Karen came in, announcing that Toby was in costume and would be ready to go soon.

"He didn't sleep that long, did he?" Sarah commented to Alice, quietly. Alice nodded her head. "So when do we get to see this wonderful costume of his?"

Sarah heard giggles coming from the next room. She had known Toby would be listening.

Karen motioned for him to come in, "Toby, you heard your sister. Come on."

Sarah heard more giggles, but still no Toby was seen.

"Wait here." Karen told them, then went in to get Toby, who was still giggling. He was a very happy child. A few seconds later, they heard Karen call, "Okay, we're ready!"

Sarah and Alice waited patiently as Karen walked into the kitchen holding Toby by the hand. Sarah felt a familiar cold wash over her as she looked at her brother. He was dressed as a peach.

_Everything's dancing..._

Flashes of Jareth passed through her mind, sending a sudden flood of warmth through her.

"Karen..." Sarah stammered, trying keep certain feelings from showing, "What...I mean...umm...isn't that more suited to a girl?"

Karen didn't seem to notice her shock. Kneeling beside her son, she adjusted his little stem hat, "It was either that or a ballerina, which I don't think would have gone over too well with your father."

Sarah couldn't help but smile. She wasn't too sure about this costume, it was a little too much of a reminder of a time she didn't need reminding of. She already thought about it constantly, it seemed. But she did agree that her father would not be happy seeing his only son in a little pink tutu.

A few minutes and pictures later, Sarah, Toby, and Alice were out the door and on their way around the neighborhood. When they came to the first house, Sarah rang the doorbell, "Okay, Toby, now you're supposed to say 'Trick-or-Treat' and they'll open the door to give you some candy."

Toby looked up at Sarah for a second, then back at the door. He had a questioning look on his face, like he didn't really believe her.

"Twick-ow-Tweat?" Toby said, shyly. Sarah smiled as the door opened and Toby's little jaw dropped. The woman who had opened the door commented on how cute Toby was, then slipped a few pieces of candy into the bag he had frozen in his hand. Sarah thanked the woman, then took Toby's hand and lead him back down the sidewalk to where Alice was waiting.

"See, Toby? That's all you have to do." Sarah said as he looked up at her. The look of awe written across his face as he looked back at the now closed door made her smile.

"Just like magic." Toby was grinning from ear to ear now.

"Just like..." Sarah looked down at her brother, who looked right back up at her, still grinning.

_Magic, Sarah. The boy said magic. Now where could he possibly have experienced magic before?_

Sarah tried to ignore his voice in the back of her mind. 'Just like magic' is just an expression. Toby couldn't possibly remember...or could he?

Sarah looked at Toby questioningly, but said nothing. They walked on to the next house, then the next, then the next, and with each house, Toby got a little less shy and a little more loud. By the time they reached the next block, Sarah had to hold his hand tightly so he wouldn't run off ahead of them.

Toby was so eager to go to more and more houses. It wasn't so much for the candy, though, he liked the 'magic'. So they went on to the many different houses on the many different streets, until they found themselves staring up at the front of their high school.

"Have we really gone that far?" Sarah asked, looking back in the direction of her house. A little shocked, she released Toby's hand.

"It would seem so, Sarah." Alice nodded as they again stared up at their school. Neither of them seemed to notice that Toby had wandered to the edge of the road...until they heard the blare of the car horn and screeching of tires. They realized just in time to see Toby in the middle of the street, the car unable to stop.

Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and the car zoomed past them.

"TOBY!" Sarah screamed in horror and ran toward the street after him. She knew it was too late, but what could she do? How could she have let this happen? She was supposed to be watching him. She was supposed to be...

_Wait. _There had been no sound of impact.

"Toby?" Sarah cried, tears streaming down her face from fright. He was nowhere to be seen. "Toby!"

"Sarah, look." Alice pointed across the street.

Looking up, Sarah gasped, "Toby!" She couldn't remember when she had moved so fast in her life. She didn't even remember crossing the street. She was just there, tightly hugging her brother to her. She didn't want to let him go, but she released him to make sure he was okay.

Toby seemed unfazed by the whole thing. He smiled up at his sister, then leaning in, he whispered in her ear, "Just like magic."

Sarah felt another kind of fear go through her, "Toby?"

Pulling away from her, he giggled and held a finger to his lips, like it was a secret between the two of them. His eyes wandered from her to something behind her, causing her to turn. She just barely saw the white barn owl as it flew into an open window of a seemingly abandoned house.

Turning back, she stood up, "I think its time we go home now. Alice..."

Alice was staring at them. She was as white as a sheet, "Uh, Sarah?"

"What is it, Alice?"

"Toby is supposed to be a peach, right?"

"You know he's a peach, Alice, you were there."

"I know I was there, but he's not a peach anymore." Alice pointed at Toby, "I don't know what he is."

Sarah's eye snapped down to look at her brother's costume. She knew exactly what he was. There was no doubt in her mind that his new costume was that of a goblin.

_Jareth is messing with me again. I'll have to thank him this time, though. He saved my brother from that car._

Sarah looked back at the abandoned house. She knew this house---Alice's haunted house. He must have known they were going there that night. Of course he did! He had let her see him fly into that house. He would be waiting for her, and there was no way she would disappoint him by not showing up. Not after he went to all that trouble...

"Alice, let's go home. It's past dark and Karen's going to kill me." Sarah took Toby's hand, determinedly, and they began the walk home.

Alice noticed this determination that had taken over Sarah's actions, but didn't question her until they had gotten Toby home, safe and sound. Karen had given Sarah a look when they walked in, but didn't attempt to stop them as they walked right back out the door.

"Sarah, what's going on?" Alice was confused about the events of the night. "Where are we going?"

Amused, Sarah glanced over at Alice for a second before turning her attention back to where she was walking, "Where do you think?"

"Are you serious? I thought that, because of everything that's happened tonight, we'd wait to check it out." Alice's surprise was evident in her voice. Sarah shook her head.

"No way. He saved him, Alice, then he flew to that house." Sarah stopped walking and faced her friend. "I have to go there. I have to see him." And with that, Sarah took off running.

"Sarah! Wait!" Alice yelled after her, but it was no use. Sarah couldn't hear her and wouldn't have listened if she could. Alice smiled to herself as she watched Sarah run down the street and around the corner. Shaking her head, she followed after her friend at a considerably slower pace.

Sarah hadn't been thinking when she had started running. All she knew was that she had to get to that house and she wanted to get there as fast as she could. She would reach the house long before Alice, but she figured that would be for the best. She had to see him alone.

Sarah slowed her run to a stop in front of the house. Looking up at it, chills went down her spine. It seemed more ominous now than it had before and she wondered if it were really haunted. _No, you're probably the only thing haunting this place..._

"Jareth." she breathed. "I know you're in there."

Slowly, she climbed the front steps toward the front door, the boards creaking under her feet. The door itself was just as bad, if not worse than the rotting porch boards. Sarah pushed lightly on the door. She had been afraid it would fall off it's hinges, but it didn't. It swung open freely, exposing the narrow front hall. Inside, it was dark, but it wasn't so dark yet that she couldn't see.

Taking a step in, her eyes slowly took in her surroundings. She was a little nervous as she ventured down the front hall, leading her to a large open floor space.

_This has to be a ballroom...figures._

She could just imagine the elegant parties that must have taken place in this enchanting room. She could see the wear that the many years of dancing had wreaked on the hardwood flooring.

As she moved farther into the room, her eyes were drawn to the majestic grand staircase. The twisting and turning of the handrails leading the way to the second and third floors particularly captivated her, compelling her to follow them to whatever was lying at their ends.

"This is such a beautiful house. Its just too bad the owners had to let it rot to pieces." Sarah commented to herself as she slowly moved toward the staircase. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the front door closing, followed by foot steps in the front hall. Looking back, Sarah called, "Alice?"

There was no answer. Scratching her head, Sarah took a few steps and peeked around the corner into the hall. There was nobody there...not that she could see anyway.

"Jareth?" Sarah hoped, a nervous fear gripping her senses. "I know you're here, Jareth. You're not scaring me."

There was still no answer and Jareth did not appear.

Turning around, she walked back into the ballroom. This time, however, she was not so enchanted. She could hear soft whispers echoing through the walls and in the air all about her, sending chills down her spine.

"Its the wind...yeah, its just a draft." Sarah reasoned with herself. "Its not really haunted." There was uncertainty in her tone. She was on edge, waiting for something to happen.

And something did.

Sarah walked toward the staircase once more. Placing her hand upon the railing, she felt a certain sadness run through her. Suddenly, she felt as if somebody was running their fingers through her hair. Reaching back, she quickly gathered her hair and pulled it loosely over her shoulder.

"Who's there!" Sarah spun around, but nobody was there. True, this sort of thing had happened to her many times before. She would feel Jareth near her, touching her. But this had not felt the same as when she'd sensed it with Jareth. This, whatever it was, was not him. In fact, she did not feel him near her at all. She only felt this dead, cold feeling that was both sad and threatening.

Terror gripped her heart. What if that owl had just been a figment of her imagination? What if Jareth wasn't actually there, but the place was, in fact, haunted? She knew she had to get out of there. It was too dark now, and she hadn't thought to bring a flashlight.

Sarah ran as quickly as she could from the ballroom down the front hall to the door. Pulling on the handle, she cried out in frustrated fear when it would not open. Trying with all her strength, she pulled at it desperately, but still it remained shut tight.

She could hear the whispers growing louder, calling to her from the ballroom, as mysterious candlelight now cast eerie shadows on the door in front of her. Turning around slowly, she looked out toward the candlelight.

Her blood ran cold._ He is here._

For a moment, she saw him standing in the middle of the floor. The pain evident in his mismatched eyes cut through to her heart as he held out his hand, beckoning her back to the ballroom.

Sarah was hardly breathing. Jumping up, she ran back to the ballroom.

"Jareth!" Sarah looked around, but there was no sign of him.

"Ghosts playing tricks on you, are they?"

Sarah spun around.

"Alice!" She ran to greet her friend, but to her dismay, Alice had disappeared. Laughter echoed darkly throughout the room as the candlelight cast sinister shadows on the walls.

"Sarah..." the whispers echoed all around her. Before she could react, she felt her feet leave the ground. All she could do was watch helplessly as the second and third floors passed through her line of sight.

Beyond terrified, she did the only thing she could think of. The only thing that made sense to her. With all her might, her heart screamed...

_Jareth!_

She saw the lightning flash through the windows, but was deaf to the thunder as she felt herself falling down toward the ballroom floor. Any moment, she would connect with that worn-out old floor in a way she had never intended. Closing her eyes, she waited for the impact.

But it never came.

Slowly opening her eyes, she looked up into Jareth's face as he held her in his arms. His eyes did not have that pain she had seen before when the ghosts had played upon her emotions. Instead, she saw a certain warmth that flowed from them into her heart. She knew then, beyond a doubt, what she had know all along. He loved her, always had, and she felt the same for him.

"Jareth..." Sarah whispered, her eyes revealing what she felt in her heart.

"I told you, Sarah. I'll be there for you," Jareth replied softly as he leaned in, "As the world falls down."

She knew he was going to kiss her, and this time, she had no intention of letting anything get in the way of that.

And so the story ends, with a kiss.


End file.
